# 1966 Cleveland Browns season

The 1966 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 17th season with the National Football League. They finished just 9–5, their worst record since 1962, and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1963.

## Season summary

Save for a devastating 16–6 upset loss to a Pittsburgh Steelers team that would finish just 5–8–1, the Browns offense scored points in bunches. In later years, Browns players from that era said the 1966 team had the best offense—even better than the one in 1964, when the club won the NFL championship—and there's evidence to support that contention. The flurry of points started in the opener when the Browns blew out the Washington Redskins 38–14. It continued in a stretch of five straight games in which they lost 34–28 to the St. Louis Cardinals, beat the New York Giants 28–7, routed the Steelers 41–10, turned back the Dallas Cowboys 30–21 and crushed the expansion Atlanta Falcons 49–17.
Then, as they were finishing the season, the Browns outscored the Giants 49–40 and walloped the Cardinals 38–10.
The Browns scored 403 points in all, averaging a healthy 28.8 per contest. Even in the game that eventually did in their playoff chances—a 33–21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the next-to-last week—they were able to score a decent number of points. Quarterback Frank Ryan was as good – or better – than he was in any of his previous three seasons as the full-time starter, including 1964, when he helped lead the Browns to the NFL championship. He threw for a career-high 2,974 yards and had better than a 2-to-1 ratio of touchdown passes (29) to interceptions (14). He also posted his second-best quarterback rating at 88.2.

### NFL draft

The following were selected in the 1966 NFL draft.
1966 Cleveland Browns Draft :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 14 | Milt Morin | Tight End | Massachusetts |
| 2 | 29 | Rick Norton | Quarterback | Kentucky |
| 4 | 61 | Pete Duranko | Defensive End | Notre Dame |
| 5 | 74 | Randy Schultz | Running Back | Northern Iowa |
| 5 | 78 | Dan Fulford | End | Auburn |
| 6 | 90 | Jim Battle | Tackle | Saginaw Valley |
| 6 | 93 | Fred Hoaglin | Center | Pittsburgh |
| 7 | 109 | Leroy Carter | Flanker | Grambling |
| 8 | 123 | Tom Talaga | End | Notre Dame |
| 9 | 139 | Jack Gregory | Defensive End | Delta St. |
| 10 | 153 | Monte Ledbetter | Wide Receiver | Northwestern St. (LA) |
| 11 | 169 | Tony Fire | Tackle | Bowling Green |
| 11 | 183 | Rich Czap | Tackle | Nebraska |
| 13 | 199 | Jim Boudreaux | Tackle | Louisiana Tech |
| 14 | 213 | Pete Lammons | Tight End | Texas |
| 15 | 229 | Bob Ellis | Defensive End | Massachusetts |
| 16 | 243 | David Ray | Kicker | Alabama |
| 17 | 259 | Gene Modzelewski | Tackle | New Mexico St. |
| 18 | 273 | Charley Harraway | Running Back | San Jose St. |
| 19 | 289 | Karl Singer | Tackle | Purdue |
| 20 | 303 | Joe Petro | Defensive Back | Temple |

## Exhibition schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
| 1 | August 6 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 6–16 | 63,285 |
| 2 | August 14 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 28–17 | 27,867 |
| 3 | August 20 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 42–3 | 48,548 |
| 4 | August 26 | Baltimore Colts | L 17–24 | 83,418 |
| 5 | September 3 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (at Birmingham) | W 13–10 | 23,590 |
There was a doubleheader on August 26, 1966 Redskins vs Vikings and Colts vs Browns.

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 11 | at Washington Redskins | W 38–14 | 1–0 | 48,643 |
| 2 | September 18 | Green Bay Packers | L 20–21 | 1–1 | 83,943 |
| 3 | September 25 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 28–34 | 1–2 | 74,814 |
| 4 | October 2 | at New York Giants | W 28–7 | 2–2 | 62,916 |
| 5 | October 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 41–10 | 3–2 | 82,687 |
| 6 | October 16 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 23 | Dallas Cowboys | W 30–21 | 4–2 | 84,721 |
| 8 | October 30 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 49–17 | 5–2 | 57,235 |
| 9 | November 6 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 6–16 | 5–3 | 39,690 |
| 10 | November 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 27–7 | 6–3 | 77,698 |
| 11 | November 20 | Washington Redskins | W 14–3 | 7–3 | 78,466 |
| 12 | November 24 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 14–26 | 7–4 | 75,504 |
| 13 | December 4 | New York Giants | W 49–40 | 8–4 | 61,651 |
| 14 | December 11 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 21–33 | 8–5 | 58,074 |
| 15 | December 17 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 38–10 | 9–5 | 47,721 |
* A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Browns | 7 | 0 | 10 | 21 | 38 |
| Redskins | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

#### Week 4 at New York Giants

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Yankee Stadium, New York City
* Date: October 2
* Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
* Box Score
Game information :
First Quarter
Cleveland – Milt Morin 20-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Browns 7–0.
Second Quarter
Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 3-yard rush (Groza kick), Browns 14–0.
New York– Homer Jones 17-yard pass from Gary Wood (Gogolak kick), Browns 14–7.
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
Cleveland – Ernie Green 14-yard rush (Groza kick), Browns 21–7.
Cleveland – Paul Warfield 9-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Browns 28–7.
Top Passers
Browns – Frank Ryan: 14/24, 171 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Giants – Earl Morrall: 10/23, 177 yds, 3 INT
Top rushers
Browns – Leroy Kelly: 20 car, 138 yds. 1 TD
Giants – Dan Lewis: 9 car, 24 yds,
Top receivers
Browns – Gary Collins: 4 rec, 88 yds.
Giants – Homer Jones: 4 rec, 88 yds. 1 TD :

#### Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 14 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 49 |
| Falcons | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, GA
* Date: October 30
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), relative humidity 62%, round (wind) 10 mph
* Game attendance: 57,235
* TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (play–by–play) and Warren Lahr (color commentator) (second half)
Game information :
First Quarter
CLE – Kelly 70 yard rush (Groza kick) Browns 7, Falcons 0
CLE – Warfield 36 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) Browns 14, Falcons 0
Second Quarter
ATL – Wheelwright 1 yard rush (Kirouac kick) Browns 14, Falcons 7
CLE – Collins 17 yard pass from Ryan (Houston pass from Ninowski) Browns 21, Falcons 7
ATL – Kirouac 23 yard field goal Browns 21, Falcons 10
Third Quarter
CLE – Green 6 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) Browns 28, Falcons 10
Fourth Quarter
CLE – Kelly 30 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) Browns 35, Falcons 10
ATL – Hawkins 22 yard pass from Johnson (Kirouac kick) Browns 35, Falcons 17
CLE – McNeil 44 yard pass from Ninowski (Groza kick) Browns 42, Falcons 17
CLE – Smith 15 yard pass from Ninowski (Groza kick) Browns 49, Falcons 17
Top passers
CLE – Frank Ryan 13/21, 223 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
ATL – Randy Johnson 14/25, 158 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Top rushers
CLE – Leroy Kelly 14 carr, 98 yds, 1 TD
ATL – Junior Coffey 17 carr, 117 yds
Top receivers
CLE – Gary Collins 4 rec, 48 yds, 1 TD
ATL – Vern Burke 5 rec, 60 yds
Turnovers
CLE – 1
ATL – 3 :

#### Week 9 at Pittsburgh Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 16 |
at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Date: November 6
* Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C)
* Game attendance: 36,690
* Box Score
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Browns | Passing | Frank Ryan | 19/37, 228 Yds, TD, 5 INT |
| Browns | Rushing | Leroy Kelly | 19 Rush, 82 Yds |
| Browns | Receiving | Gary Collins | 7 Rec, 93 Yds, TD |
| Steelers | Passing | Ron Smith | 11/19, 151 Yds, TD |
| Steelers | Rushing | Willie Asbury | 17 Rush, 94 Yds |
| Steelers | Receiving | Gary Ballman | 7 Rec, 88 Yds, TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | CLE | PIT |
| 2 | | | | | Browns | Gary Collins 24-yard touchdown reception from Frank Ryan, kick no good | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | | | | | Steelers | 28-yard field goal by Mike Clark | 6 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Steelers | 25-yard field goal by Mike Clark | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | | | | | Steelers | Gary Ballman 8-yard touchdown reception from Ron Smith, Mike Clark kick good | 6 | 13 |
| 4 | | | | | Steelers | 42-yard field goal by Mike Clark | 6 | 16 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 6 | 16 |

#### Week 12 at Cowboys

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Cowboys | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 |
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
* Date: November 24
* Game attendance: 80,259
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
DAL – Danny Villanueva 11-yard field goal. Cowboys 3-0. Drive:
DAL – Danny Villanueva 31-yard field goal. Cowboys 6-0. Drive:
Second quarter
CLE – Leroy Kelly 1-yard run (Lou Groza kick). Browns 7-6. Drive:
DAL – Dan Reeves 6-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick). Cowboys 13-7. Drive:
CLE – Ernie Green 16-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Lou Groza kick). Browns 14-13. Drive:
Third quarter
DAL – Danny Villanueva 12-yard field goal. Cowboys 16-14. Drive:
DAL – Danny Villanueva 13-yard field goal. Cowboys 19-14. Drive:
Fourth quarter
DAL – Don Perkins 9-yard run (Danny Villanueva kick). Cowboys 26-14. Drive:
Top passers
CLE – Frank Ryan – 12/26, 190 yards, TD
DAL – Don Meredith – 16/24, 131 yards, TD
Top rushers
CLE – Leroy Kelly – 15 rushes, 115 yards, TD
DAL – Don Perkins – 23 rushes, 111 yards, TD
Receiving
CLE – Gary Collins – 5 receptions, 92 yards
DAL – Bob Hayes – 6 receptions, 54 yards :

#### Week 13 vs New York Giants

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 14 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 40 |
| Browns | 7 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 49 |
at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland
* Date: December 4
* Game weather: 18 °F (−8 °C)
* Box Score
Game information :
First Quarter
New York – Clarence Childs 90-yard kickoff return (Gogolak kick), Giants 7–0.
New York – Gary Wood 5-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Giants 14–0.
Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 1-yard rush (Groza kick), Giants 14–7.
Second Quarter
New York – Gary Wood 16-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Giants 21–7.
Cleveland – Gary Collins 3-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Giants 21–14.
New York – Joe Morrison 33-yard pass from Gary Wood (Gogolak kick), Giants 28–14.
New York – Pete Gogolak 26-yard field goal, Giants 31–14.
Third Quarter
New York – Pete Gogolak 13-yard field goal, Giants 34–14.
Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 3-yard rush (Groza kick), Giants 34–21.
New York – Pete Gogolak 38-yard field goal, Giants 37–21.
Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 2-yard rush (Groza kick), Giants 37–28.
Fourth Quarter
New York – Pete Gogolak 16-yard field goal, Giants 40–28.
Cleveland – Ralph Smith 19-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Giants 40–35.
Cleveland – Ernie Green 31-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Browns 42–40.
Cleveland – Bill Glass 13-yard fumble return (Groza kick), Browns 49–40.
Top Passers
Giants – Gary Wood: 9/18, 120 yds, 1 TD
Browns – Frank Ryan: 16/27, 326 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT
Top rushers
Giants – Allen Jacobs: 26 car, 94 yds
Browns – Leroy Kelly: 13 car, 126 yds. 3 TD
Top receivers
Giants – Joe Morrison: 5 rec, 75 yds. 1 TD
Browns – Gary Collins: 5 rec, 120 yds. 1 TD :

## Standings

NFL Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 9–3–1 | 445 | 239 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 8–5 | 326 | 340 | W4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 9–4 | 403 | 259 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 7–5–1 | 264 | 265 | L3 |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 7–6 | 351 | 355 | L1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 4–8–1 | 316 | 347 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–5 | 204 | 437 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 1–11–1 | 263 | 501 | L8 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.